WHY IT RATES: Honoring theannual Japanese tradition of Hanami, the Mei Ume restaurant will be transformed with a bespoke cherry blossom garden. In addition, Head Chef Tony Truong has created a special, seasonal menu. -Mia Taylor, TravelPulse Senior Writer.
Mei Ume, the Asian restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, is celebrating the annual Japanese festival hanami, this spring.
The restaurant will be transformed for the occasion with a bespoke cherry blossom garden sitting atop the Mei Ume Bar, as well as introducing an exclusive a la carte menu.
Hanami is the Japanese tradition of welcoming spring and enjoying the transient beauty of cherry blossom season. Between the end of March and early May, Japan's citizens celebrate hanami by hosting outdoor parties and feasting beneath lanterns hung on the blossom-laden trees.
At Mei Ume, the celebrations will be brought indoors, with Mei Ume's pavilion-style bar adorned with an arching display of sakura, or cherry blossom, installed by greenery experts Palmbrokers.
Guests can perch at the bar and admire the twisting boughs above them, weaving through the hanging lanterns. The installation will complement Mei Ume's ornate aesthetic, with decorative hand-painted murals and silk embroidered panels.
In addition to Mei Ume's Chinese and Japanese à la carte menu, to honor this beautiful but fleeting season, Head Chef Tony Truong has created a seasonal menu with dishes including rock shrimp tempura with spicy mayo and pan-fried wagyu beef gyoza.
Guests can watch as sushi chef Mun Seok Choi and his team artfully craft the Mei Ume golden dragon roll with unagi, Alaskan crab and avocado at the live sushi bar, and toast hanami with a floral cherry blossom cocktail, made with Dry Sipsmith, lychee and yuzu juice.
Larger dishes include sea urchin and scallop fried rice, cooked in a traditional toban; baby chicken teriyaki with cucumber and mushroom salad; and grilled miso seabass with Japanese sake sauce, a nod to the tradition of drinking sake beneath the cherry trees. To finish Tony has created a sakura dessert, with jasmine tea mousse, cherry compote and sorbet.
"In Japan, hanami is a time of celebration," says Tony. "We wanted to capture the festive spirit of hanami by creating a new menu especially for the occasion, served beneath our very own branches of cherry blossom."
Mei Ume's Hanami Festival begins on April 16 and will run until May 5, 2018.
SOURCE: Four Seasons press release
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